Election Impact: The Future of Common Core in Alabama

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MADISON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) —The June 3rd primaries may play a role in deciding the future of Common Core. It was the focus of several races.

State School Board Candidate Mike Parsons and Senate Candidate George Barry both made Common Core a focus of their message.

Both lost.

Mary Scott Hunter beat Parsons in the State Board of Education race, saying, “As an issue, it just hasn’t been able to get a leg. It hasn’t been able to get a foothold at any of the junctures.”

Fighting Common Core stirred a lot of passion in this last legislative session, but it doesn’t seem to have much of a foothold for real progress.

Representative Mike Ball (R – Madison) adds perspective, “Most of us in the legislature, our position is, you know we got a state school board that’s elected. That’s their decision.”

Hunter sees the election results as a sign, saying, “At this point, it’s time to move on. A lot of us have already begun to move on.”

Ball notes, “There wasn’t a lot of real good discussion on anybody’s part.”

He hopes that the failure of anit-Common Core sentiments to change the outcome of races, evolves the discussion, “The issue isn’t going to go away, and it shouldn’t. But I am hopeful that now we can sit down, and we can have a discussion. I will say this, the people who are anti-Common Core, they haven’t won the hearts of the public. If they win the hearts of the public, they don’t have to worry about me. I work for the public.”

2 comments

Harry Martin

” Haven’t won the hearts of the public?” Which of the public is he asking? They must not have any children in school! Common Core is just Part One! There is another program waiting in the wings, for pre-schoolers, which is said to be as bad or worse than Common Core!

Carleton Smith

If Common Core was not an issue, why did all of Mary Scott Hunter’s campaign materials fail to mention her support of common core – the campaign knew it was an issue that would cost her votes and maybe even the election. Her campaign relied on deception, not on making the issues clear. I hope she stops letting the Common Core propaganda win her over because I am convinced her heart is in the right place despite my disapointment in the disingenuous way this campaign was run.